


Over Booze and Buzz

by leezh



Series: The Grand Plan of the Palace [3]
Category: Korean Drama, 더 킹：영원의 군주 | The King: Eternal Monarch (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Formalwear, Friendship, Inspired by K-Drama | Korean Drama, Parallel Universes, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24519010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leezh/pseuds/leezh
Summary: In which the Captain let loose (at first) in celebration of the King’s birthday. There's booze involved in this, Tae-eul would so much approve.Post drama, written before the 13th episode aired, so pretty sure this is not canon. At all.
Relationships: Jo Yeong/Myeong Seung-ah, Lee Gon/Jeong Tae-eul
Series: The Grand Plan of the Palace [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763707
Comments: 23
Kudos: 134





	Over Booze and Buzz

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written mostly because I agree with Myeong Seung-ah. Some men (especially Jo Yeong), all covered up (especially in suits), are terribly hot.
> 
> And also because we need some light hearted stories before the finale. Hope you guys enjoy it!

As a personal rule, Jo Yeong only drinks two times a year, max. Once, on the birthday of His Majesty, The King of Corea, Lee Gon, and then the only other time was, lately, on his own birthday.

It was not because he had zero tolerance or despised the taste. No, far from it. He actually preferred soju than beer, but he even came to like the Mixing-Shaking-Drinking-style drink that Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul - _former Lieutenant_ , he reminded himself - introduced him to, and would even admit that he missed it terribly. 

However, now that he was fully back to his life and duty as Captain of the Royal Guards in Corea, Yeong simply could not afford to let his reflexes dulled and judgement compromised, even just for a few hours. Multiple lives, including the King’s, Royal Court’s, and his country could be at stake.

But still, he made an exception, for Lee Gon. Only for his best friend Lee Gon.

Yeong clinked his can of beer with His Majesty’s before they both took a gulp. 

“Ahh, I totally miss this, Yeong-ah,” Lee Gon sighed in contentment, a wide smile on his face. “Do you know why I always look forward to my birthday? It's not because of all of the grand celebrations that Lady Noh throws me: the party, cakes, presents, the kind, but because it’s the only time you're gonna have a drink with me.”

Yeong responded by raising one of his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? But that never stops you from asking, does it, _Pyeha_?”

The King laughed. “I am a man of perseverance, after all. Look what I’ve accomplished! After years and years of asking, _you_ were finally willing to have a drink with me on your birthday too. You know how thrilled I was, right? _Took me four years,_ but progress!”

Yeong gave out a small smile at that, recalling the memory. A few years back, the moment he finally said yes, the King had stood there unblinking for a few seconds, uncharacteristically at loss for words. It was quite an entertaining sight.

“And by the way, I thought you’ve changed,” the Monarch continued, fully protesting now, “I saw you drink openly when you were in the Republic!”

“That’s because you weren’t there.”

Lee Gon made the motion like he had just been shot on the heart. “Ouch, that hurts.”

Yeong just dismissed his King’s antics. "You know what I mean."

Back then, in the Republic of Korea, he was not Jo Yeong but Jo Eun-seob, a mere civilian, who happened to get tangled up in the conspiracies of the two worlds and did some investigations himself. There, he had no King (and best friend) to protect. There, on the other hand, he traded his needs for 24/7 of vigilance with 24/7 of endless worries, because said King had returned to their world with his counterpart without any means to contact them due to the technicalities of the different worlds.

So, yeah, Yeong was fully aware that he was breaking his own rules, but back then, alcohol had been more than essential as his coping mechanism.

Not that he would ever tell the King about the last part, though.

"Anyway, thank you for drinking with me, Yeong-ah." Lee Gon leaned his head back against the headrest. “You see, this, right here, right now,” he remarked, “life is good.” 

Yeong let himself hummed in agreement, returning the sentiment.

They were sprawled on the sofa in His Majesty’s study. The King, sporting semi casual clothes of a white collarless shirt and a dark blue vest, was in a relaxed position. He had his hand, which was holding the beer, resting on one of the propped up pillows. Beside him, the Captain was in his suit uniform as always, but had stripped off his suit jacket and folded it up on the nearby chairs. He wasn’t wearing a tie that day, though, and had unfastened the first few buttons on his shirt.

On the table in front of them, the many cans and bottles of beer were mixed in with soju and their glasses, still stacked neatly. They were untouched, for now, due to their mutual agreement that the infamous Jeong Tae-eul's mix of beer and soju was to be kept for later rounds.

To say that Lee Gon had definitely gone overboard was probably an understatement. Yeong was pretty sure that the amount of alcohol had doubled since his last birthday, and he was having difficulties seeing the actual surface of said table.

They were only halfway through their second cans of beer when someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Yeong shouted. He did not bother to straighten his back, let alone get up. His Majesty Lee Gon’s birthday was also the one day where he let himself be the best friend first instead of Captain of the Royal Guards. Plus, he was way too comfortable anyway.

He turned in his seat to see Myeong Seung-ah letting herself in, holding a tablet in her hands.

“ _Pyeha_ , I terribly apologize, but-” Her voice instantly trailed off once she witnessed the sight in front of her. “Oh, uhh…”

As a new addition to the Palace, less than a year in, Yeong was sure that Seung-ah had yet to get familiarized with their annual habit. 

Over the years, Yeong had amassed quite a collection of how people in the Palace reacted to them getting wasted: some were appalled (just Lady Noh, mostly), some highly approved (Secretary Mo), some were fascinated by their curious timing, and a few (almost all of them female, but he did not keep count, really) made awkward attempts to invite him to drink with them later on, to which he obviously denied.

Judging by her nervous glances which alternated between the two men, Yeong would guess that she had a hard time deciding which sight shocked her more: her King slouching carelessly like he had blended onto the sofa, or the Captain holding a beer sans his suit and soldier pose, possibly drunk.

He supposed it was the combination of the two.

To her credit, Seung-ah seemed to be able to recover pretty quickly. Her expression reverted back to that of strict professionalism (to which he very much approved) as she cleared her throat and tried again. “Secretary Mo is looking for you, _Pyeha_ . She has questions about Lady Jeong’s insistence on some _protocols_.”

The infliction in her voice was clearly an explanation on itself. Yeong could instantly picture Jeong Tae-eul having a fit over the many ancient traditions of the Kingdom. That lady sure was feisty, she could even handle herself against Head Court Lady Noh, which was pretty impressive. Secretary Mo almost didn’t have a chance.

The King turned towards him with an alarmed look on his face. His eyes quickly darted to the beer he was holding, and he needed no words, really. Yeong knew precisely what was on the King's mind.

He stopped the Monarch before he managed to take two fresh beer cans, swapping them with the soju bottles instead. “ _Pyeha_ , I’d suggest you take these instead.”

Jeong Tae-eul was famous for her affinity to strong alcohol, after all.

Lee Gon smiled widely at that. “You’re brilliant, Yeong-ah.”

He gathered the bottles and shot glasses onto his hands then stood up. “We’re resuming this tonight. I don’t care if the party ends way past midnight, it’s still my day. _My_ after party. It’s the King’s order.”

The King then turned to Seung-ah with a mischievous smile in his face, “You’re my witness, Miss Myeong Seung-ah.”

~

As soon as the King had departed the room, Seung-ah approached him with a small smile on her face. “Wow, it’s you, Jo _daejangnim_ , loosening up,” she commented. “ _Daebak_.”

Yeong let out a small smile himself. He lifted one of the unopened beers. “Want one?”

He could almost see the gears in the Public Affairs staff’s head turned, as if she was calculating how much she could get in trouble for succumbing to the temptation of alcohol just before the grand party, which he supposed she still needed to oversee. 

But she finally relented. “Yeah, okay,” she said, placing her tablet on the edge of the table after rearranging some of the cans and bottles to make space. She cracked open her beer. "I don't know that you drink."

"I mostly don't,” Yeong replied, resting his arms on his knees. “But the Royal Guards have vetted the entire guests, aids, security details, their family, friends, colleagues, distant acquaintances - _everyone_ \- multiple times over the last few months, so I’m confident.”

Not to mention, his fellow security details, the ones who would accompany the many military personnels, politicians, foreign delegations, celebrities, _everyone who’s who_ for that night, had done and coordinated their own security checks and protocols with them. The security level of that night's event was simply beyond impenetrable.

"You must have," Seung-ah agreed. "I can't believe it took me more than an hour to enter the Palace every day this week. I've worked here for months and I even know almost everyone from your team by name!"

Yeong felt a swell of pride for his team at that admission.

He took another sip. 

He had to admit, it was nice to be able to let go, even just for a short while. The warm buzz of the alcohol was most definitely comfortable. 

Now that the nightmare with Lee Lim was all over, finally, _finally_ he could breathe so much easier. Himself, the King, Lady Jeong Tae-eul, as well as the whole Palace and Kingdom of Corea. No more waiting for the other shoe to drop ever since the King told him that the traitor was still alive. He had prepared himself for such battles and so much more his whole life, but Yeong still had to admit that those particular few months of going back and forth the parallel worlds were absolutely bad for his stress levels and taking its toll on him, both physically and mentally.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Seung-ah turned on the screen of her tablet. “Can you meet me fifteen minutes before the gate opens? I have to freshen up and take care of some minor stuff first, but I still need to prep you.”

“Prep me for what?”

“The Royal Guards’ uniform,” she replied, but Yeong still didn't really follow. 

The Palace Wardrobe Department had sent a notice to his office, regarding the guards’ dress code for the night. He had only glanced at it, because just like the year and many years before, the Royal Guards would wear their three piece suits for the night, including himself.

He belatedly realized that she should be talking about their ties. 

Yeong gave out an involuntary shudder. “It’s not bow ties again this year, is it?”

Two years ago, Lady Noh had them all wear _patterned_ bow ties, which he hated with a passion. He remembered looking at the photos plastered upon the Kingdom's newspaper the day after and feeling the strongest urge to sue the Head Court Lady for infringement of decent fashion sense.

He still kind of wanted to, to be honest.

Seung-ah laughed. “No, you have my word,” she said. “But I’ll have you know, you still looked extremely good in them, _daejangnim_.”

Yeong raised one of his eyebrows. He noticed that for some reason, Seung-ah had her gaze locked in on the general direction of his collarbones as she said that.

 _Yes, that is Myeong Seung-ah_ , Yeong thought. She was as direct as she always was.

And, well, Yeong had to admit that he really did not mind if she was, indeed, checking him out.

~

After taking a quick shower, Yeong returned to the Royal Guards' locker room to change. 

It was currently empty. He supposed everyone had headed out towards their respective posts already. Yeong checked his watch to confirm that he still got about twenty minutes before the Palace gates were opened for the early arrivals.

The Captain put on his shirt, which was all white, just like the other Royal Guards on duty that night. He was in the middle of putting his earpiece on when Myeong Seung-ah came in, bringing a tray filled with tie selections and a large box with her.

“Why are you the only one to bring the ties?” he asked. He expected one of the palace maids to accompany her, but apparently, she came alone.

“Because none of the palace maids know how to do the Eldredge knot perfectly, while I do.” She should have registered the blank look on his face, because she continued with a small smile, apparently amused, “And because I also doubt you’ve _even_ heard of it, _daejangnim_.”

 _The_ what _knot, now?_

“What’s wrong with Full Windsor?” He inquired. Yeong might not know too many knot varieties, he simply had no time. But at the very least, he knew that the Full Windsor was always a proper option.

“Nothing, but tonight is the first birthday party that the King shares with Lady Jeong, so he wants every little detail to be a bit more special. And, _my Captain_ , the Eldredge knot is a work of art, that I can assure you." Yeong could clearly see that Seung-ah enjoyed teasing him. It was hard to overlook the mirth in her eyes as she uttered the last sentence.

“Miss Park In-young had chosen the Trinity knot, by the way, which looks fantastic on her.” Seung-ah had put down the tray on top of the box and was inspecting his vest and suit jacket, clearly looking for the best pattern or color that would match them best. “But you are the Captain, so you should have the most exquisite one.”

Seung-ah lifted her first choice. The tie was dark navy in color, with some sort of dragon-scale texture which gave out a subtle glimmer to the fabric. “What do you think, will this do?”

"Sure," he said. And he meant it, despite his monosyllabic answer.

For his day-to-day, he did not feel the need to be flashy, just immaculate, so he usually went for solid colors whenever he opted to wear one. Yeong had no objections to subtle patterned ties for special occasions, though, and the one that Myeong Seung-ah currently held screamed nothing but opulence, which he thought was highly appropriate for celebrating his King and best friend Lee Gon's birthday.

“Okay, please stand still,” she laughed at her own bad soldier jokes.

Standing in front of him, Seung-ah upturned his shirt collar and placed the tie around his neck before crossing its skinny end over the wide end at the front. 

As she began to work, Yeong started to take note of their height difference. Myeong Seung-ah was not a tiny lady, but she was still a good fifteen or twenty centimeters shorter than him. He mostly saw only the top of her hair as her hands continued to weave the piece of fabric for him.

Her hair smelled nice, he thought. No, _she_ smelled nice.

Yeong was fully aware of their proximity then. 

After probably a minute or two and some initial loops, she leaned back to assess the moves she had made. “Okay, so far so good. It’s not too tight, is it?”

 _Is it not?_ Yeong felt the room got slightly warmer. “Hm,” was all he offered.

For some reason, Seung-ah grinned at his curt response, he did not know why. She tended to do that a lot, now that he really thought about it. It started to nag him.

Looking down, he watched her return to her task, carefully making some more loops and at one point pulling the skinny end and tightening it. She tugged the fabric with one hand as her other hand held the knot in place. Yeong doubted that she realized it herself, but apparently, when she was deeply concentrating on something, Myeong Seung-ah would produce a slight frown on her face and her lips form a tiny pout.

Yeong let out the tiniest smile.

Her eyes were even prettier from up close, he mused. She probably put something on for the night, because they gave out an extra sparkle- 

"And…" his thought was interrupted by the lady in question, who in the meantime was moving her fingers close to his jugular. “I just have to hide the rest here, and we’re done.”

She finished the knot by tucking the rest of the skinny end of the tie behind his right neck loop. 

After that, Seung-ah moved closer, closing the gap between them, as she needed to tiptoe a bit just so she could reach the backside of his collar in order to fold it down. Once she did, Yeong was hyper aware of how her hands brushed slightly over his collar, and then also his chest as she straightened his tie for the final touch.

Yeong blinked.

"There," she said, taking a step back to admire her handiwork, and the way she looked at him made him even more uncomfortable. 

_Did she just throw him a mischievous grin?_

Her phone rang before he could respond.

Seung-ah quickly put it in silence as she apologized, “Oops, sorry, it’s my alarm. We gotta go!”

Her eyes darted around the room, and Yeong realized that she should be looking for someplace to change into her partywear for the night. She was indeed still wearing her pantsuit, and the large box she was carrying earlier should consist of her dress.

“Do you need somewhere to change?” he inquired.

Instead of directly answering, Seung-ah jumped straight into her own question. “Um, would you mind if I do it here? Can you turn?”

Yeong just nodded, then without saying another word, he turned on his heels and made a point to face the door, just as an extra precaution.

In the meantime, he continued to prep himself.

After checking his reflection on the mirror on his locker door (which was carefully angled to respect her privacy completely), Yeong could say that he very much approved of this so-called Eldredge knot. It looked highly intricate and lavish.

He soon reached for his own vest, which had bullet-resistant lining sewn inside, and started to put it on, while at the same time silently appreciating its convenience before he moved efficiently to put on his gun holder and suit jacket next.

He was about to turn on his communication line when Seung-ah’s voice called out from behind him.

“ _Daejangnim_?” Her voice was hesitant. “Can you help zip me up?”

When Yeong turned, Seung-ah had her back to him, her hands busy trying to hold down her dress from flying open. She looked sideways at him with a sheepish expression on her face.

“I can only zip them up halfway,” she explained.

He could not help but stare at her dress. It was soft peach (he guessed), layered in laces, and flowing all the way to her ankles. It was not too tight, but he could tell that it should hug her figure nicely, even though he only saw it from the back and it was still in its unzipped state.

Yeong had to admit, that color looked totally good on her.

“Jo _daejangnim_?” she called him again when he did not respond. “Some help, please?”

“Oh, yes,” he finally moved to assist her.

He quickly identified where the hook and loop on her dress were located and united them. Then, he placed one of his hands where Seung-ah stopped zipping, careful not to touch her somewhere inappropriate, as his other one pulled up the zipper slowly. He carefully trained his gaze elsewhere except to her exposed skin the whole time.

When he’s done, Seung-ah spun to face him, and his breath hitched involuntarily. 

“You look- _wonderful_ ,” he breathed out. 

Seung-ah’s smile was wide. “You do too.” She looked at him from head to toe, and did not even bother to hide the appreciative look on her face.

Yeong took a step forward.

She stayed put. Her gaze upon him did not break at all. Instead, Yeong watched as she tucked her hair slowly and bit her lip as her gaze travelled down from his eyes to his lips, and then lingered on-

And, well, that was the last straw. Yeong simply could not help himself at that point.

He completely closed the gap between them in one long stride, and without saying anything else, he leaned down and claimed her lips with his own.

And he really took his time with it.

~

Later on that night, the King and his soon-to-be Queen huddled together near the three-layered birthday cake that was slightly bigger than her. They finally had a moment to themselves after shaking hands and making small conversations with the guests all night.

Gon had his eyes trained on her best friend, who was currently standing beside Myeong Seung-ah with wine glasses on their hands. She was apparently saying something, then laughed at his response before putting her hand on the Captain's elbow. He, on the other hand, did not seem to mind that gesture at all.

Instead, the King watched as the Captain leaned close and then whispered something in the lady's ears. Lee Gon soon was flabbergasted, and also thrilled, when he saw the smile on Yeong's face.

"Yeong was _late_ to my party - _he's never been late to anything!_ \- and now he's being like that? Do you see that? Tell me that you see that!"

“Told you, booze is magic,” Lady Jeong Tae-eul whispered conspiratorially. "And, well, this means I win, right, _Birthday Boy_?"

Beside her, the Monarch laughed a hearty laugh.

She might be onto something, because at that moment, one thing that the King was really certain of was that he would not get to resume his drinking session with Yeong that night after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Visual Ref: [ Yeong’s tie in the Eldredge knot](https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba2KcQonCyM/) / [Seung-ah’s dress](https://www.instagram.com/p/B_hFCqepHrU/)
> 
> Unbeta-ed.


End file.
